falar-lhe-ei

Mesoclisis with Future Tense

Level 3

Mesoclisis (mesóclise) is the 'sandwiching' of an object pronoun between the verb stem and its future or conditional ending. It is used in highly formal or literary contexts.

How It Works

Mesoclisis is a unique feature of Portuguese pronoun placement. While it may look complex, it follows a strict mechanical rule.

1. When to use it:
It is used exclusively with the Futuro do Presente (Future) and the Futuro do Pretérito (Conditional). In European Portuguese, it is mandatory at the start of a sentence. In Brazilian Portuguese, it is reserved for extremely formal writing like legal documents.

2. How to build it:
For regular verbs, take the infinitive. For the irregulars fazer, dizer, and trazer, use their shortened stems (far-, dir-, trar-). Add a hyphen, insert the pronoun, add another hyphen, and then add the tense ending.

  • Falar (to speak) + lhe (to him) + ei (I will) = Falar-lhe-ei.
  • Fazer (to do) + o + emos = Fá-lo-emos (We will do it).
  • Dar (to give) + te (to you) + ia (I would) = Dar-te-ia.

3. Special Phonetic Rules:
If you use the direct object pronouns -lo, -la, -los, -las, the final -r of the infinitive is dropped, and you may need an accent mark to maintain the sound.

4. The 'Magnetic' Exception:
If there is a 'trigger' word before the verb (like não, que, or quem), mesoclisis is cancelled, and the pronoun moves to the front (proclisis).
Example: Não lhe falarei (I will not speak to him) instead of Não falar-lhe-ei.

Examples (4)

  1. Dir-lhe-ei a verdade amanhã.

    I will tell him the truth tomorrow.

    Word by Word: Tell-to him-I will the truth tomorrow.

    The pronoun 'lhe' is placed between the stem 'dir' (from dizer) and the future ending 'ei'.

  2. Se eu pudesse, entregar-te-ia o prêmio.

    If I could, I would hand you the prize.

    Word by Word: If I could, hand-to you-I would the prize.

    This shows mesoclisis with the conditional tense (entregaria).

  3. Fá-lo-emos com todo o gosto.

    We will do it with great pleasure.

    Word by Word: Do-it-we will with all the pleasure.

    When using 'o' (it) with 'fazer', the 'r' is dropped and an accent is added to the 'a'.

  4. Ajudar-nos-ão se pedirmos?

    Will they help us if we ask?

    Word by Word: Help-us-they will if we ask?

    Mesoclisis used in a formal question starting with the verb.

Common Mistakes

  • Using mesoclisis after a negative word.

    Não falar-lhe-ei.
    Não lhe falarei.

    Negative words like 'não' act as magnets that pull the pronoun to the front (proclisis), overriding the need for mesoclisis.

  • Using enclisis (pronoun at the end) with the future tense.

    Falarei-te amanhã.
    Falar-te-ei amanhã.

    In standard Portuguese, you cannot attach a pronoun to the end of a synthetic future or conditional verb; you must use mesoclisis or proclisis.

  • Forgetting the second hyphen.

    Falar-lhei.
    Falar-lhe-ei.

    Mesoclisis always requires two hyphens to separate the pronoun from both the stem and the ending.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

falar-lhe-eiLevel 3Mesoclisis with Future Tense

Learn This First

To understand mesoclisis, you must first be familiar with direct and indirect object pronouns and the general rules for pronoun placement (enclisis). Mesoclisis is a specific formal construction used with the future tense where the pronoun is inserted between the infinitive stem and the conjugation ending.

Learn Next

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